Factors related to the non-attendance in a clinical oral health study on the home-dwelling old elderly.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate how elderly home-dwelling subjects' background factors, state of health, functional capacity and edentulousness related to their attendance in a comprehensive clinical dental study.


METHODS
Cross-sectional population study; interview and clinical dental data.


METHODS
The City of Helsinki; clinical dental examinations at the Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki.


METHODS
600 elderly aged 76, 81 and 86 years, participants in the medical examinations in the Helsinki Ageing Study one year earlier, 81% being home-dwelling.


METHODS
Age, gender, marital status, family structure, educational level, former line of work, self-perceived general health, dentulousness, ability to move, sense of hearing, state of memory, clinical findings of dementia, other medical diagnoses, and intake of drugs.


METHODS
Participation in clinical dental examinations.


RESULTS
The overall participation was 63% being reduced by high age and female gender, 75% of the 76-year-olds, but only 53% of those aged 81 or 86 years were clinically examined, figures were for men 72% and for women 60%. As shown by a multifactorial logit model, the strongest factors related to non-participation were the home-dwelling subjects' old age (OR = 3.6), deteriorated ability to move (OR = 5.3), clinically diagnosed symptoms of dementia (OR = 4.1), or edentulousness (OR = 2.5).


CONCLUSIONS
Non-participation selectively by those edentulous will lead to prevalence figures on numbers of teeth being too optimistic for the entire elderly population.
Vehkalahti
M
M
Department of Cariology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Siukosaari
P
P
Ainamo
A
A
Tilvis
R
R
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D016321:Dental Care for Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000453:epidemiology; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011897:Random Allocation; D017678:Sex Distribution